Distance Differential Per Club

[JKolya]

I remember watching a tournament years back in which Tiger hit a 7 iron 212 yards, and then a few holes later the same 7 165. I do not remember the circumstances of each shot, but vividly remember the numbers.

On a days basis I see my golfers say, "my 7 is 150 yards, 8 140," ect. Pretty basic. Now, I definitely see daily that ten yards is seldom the actual gap, the actual being more like 12-15 yards between clubs, but that is not what I am talking about here. My 7 iron can go as short as 140 (not talking about 3/4 swings or such) and as long as 180 if I try and jump on it. Usually, I use it as my 165 yard club, but that number varies on any given day depending on how my legs and ribs (old, recurring injury) feel.

What I am asking here is what are your differentials for key clubs, and/or do you play with those or simply go off of a set number? So, if your 7 is 140-180, do you use your 7 in that range, or for the lower numbers do you take a lower club, or club up, but use a flighted shot? I realize that it is probably better to stick to your average range (7 is 165 +- 5) for a given club, and then to either club down or  club up and use a flighted shot to obtain shorter distances.  I am just curios if anyone uses any given club for a large distance differential, for special shots, because its your preferred club, or what not?

Thinking about it now I occasionally use my PW with a full motion for anything from 110 to 140. This is simply because my three wedges (60, 55, 50) are different than the rest of my irons (length equivalents, and lie), and I do not like using them for full swings. So I occasionally use my PW and simply vary the swing speed to reach a larger difference in ranges. PW is probably the only club I do this with as I really like that club, and even that is rare - more preferring flighted shots inside of 130. 

[JBailey]

I use my 7 for 150 yds.  Although, I know when I hit it flush, with no wind and no elevation difference, it goes 155.  If I hit the ball off center a bit, the ball still goes 145 and I'm, at most, 30 feet from the pin.  That's not a bad place to be in regulation for an 11 handicap!  All my irons, up to my 6, run about the same -- 5 yds. either way.  My 5 and up seem to be more prone to larger differences in yardage.  My theory on that is the stronger clubs have more roll and, therefore, the total yardage is more influenced by turf conditions.

In my youth (I'm 65) I could hold the green with any club from the fairway.  That's not the case anymore.

Later,

John

[saevel25]

10 hours ago, JKolya said:

I am just curios if anyone uses any given club for a large distance differential, for special shots, because its your preferred club, or what not?

Not really. I know a few guys I play with that have a club, usually a hybrid or 3/5-wood that they can hit a lot of different ranges. That is mostly because you end up with larger gaps at the top of since the driver tends to be so much farther out than your long irons. 

For me it depends on the shot. If it's a normal day then I try to hit my 90% distance with my irons.  Let say I need to clear some water in front of a par 3, then I will club up and try to swing easier to make sure I get good contact. 

I could hit any of my irons up to 75% less than their max yardage.

[DrvFrShow]

I see about a 12-13 yd difference between clubs with a 90% swing. I use carry distances.

Edited November 15, 2015 by DrvFrShow

[bm85]

I was carrying my 9 iron the other day 200 yards sky high at the range. 

Though with a normal swing on a golf course, I hit 7 iron about 160-170. My lofts are strong to boot.

Know what you're thinking about playing different clubs from different distances, but I've been trying it without much success outside of wedges. There's probably a comment about this in LSW, and I do plan to read that over the winter.

It's quite embarrassing (and bogey-rific) to be that guy who comes up 40 yards short on a 200yd par 3 because they tried to hit their "hard" 7 iron. Works for Tiger, aka child prodigy masterclass golfer, but maybe not for me.

My new philosophy is take a 4, and focus on hitting a golf shot, instead of trying to be special. Not even saying you're doing this by the way, just sharing some reflections.

[WUTiger]

This past summer, I started using "more club" out of the rough. If I was 120 yards out, I would use an 8i with a 3/4 swing rather than a PW.

Also, I have an arthritic right hip. On days the hip is tight, I know my irons will fly about 10 yards shorter than on loose days.

Years ago, I took lessons from a public course pro in Enid, OK. For short game, he showed his students how to hit a half swing with all the clubs from 7i up through SW. (No Lob Wedges yet). This worked pretty well for about three years. Then, I has two seasons where I didn't really play, and I never really got back to doing this.

[bkuehn1952]

I have reached the age where all my clubs, with the exception of the driver and putter, go the same distance.

Okay, that may be an exaggeration.  Generally I consider the steps in 10 yard increments but so many factors enter into the equation (temperature, my ball striking, bounce & roll or stick, etc...) that I have to adjust on the fly.

[uitar9]

11 minutes ago, bkuehn1952 said:

I have reached the age where all my clubs, with the exception of the driver and putter, go the same distance.

Okay, that may be an exaggeration.  Generally I consider the steps in 10 yard increments but so many factors enter into the equation (temperature, my ball striking, bounce & roll or stick, etc...) that I have to adjust on the fly.

Lol, I'm 62 and often feel the same way. When I have any type of control/consistency I will have about 10 yards. I figure I have to have some starting point. Wind , elevation change everything

[pganapathy]

The only club I really use for a variety of distance is my PW which is about 120 yards down.  Only if I need a high loft shot that needs to stop quickly do I go to a SW or LW.  Most of the other clubs are for sort of fixed yardages except when playing a special shot like a low runner

[Jon Hoover]

I try to hit every iron with full power, while I agree that my 7i for example has a range, its not because of how I swing. Usually it has to do with the conditions on the course. Like the OP my 7 goes 165 but it could go 140-180 depending on the shot conditions, e.g. wind with or against, hole above or below, and temperature/humidity, those are really the only things that affects how far my ball travels.

[Psyber]

On November 15, 2015 at 7:17:21 PM, bm85 said:

I was carrying my 9 iron the other day 200 yards sky high at the range. 

Though with a normal swing on a golf course, I hit 7 iron about 160-170. My lofts are strong to boot.

Know what you're thinking about playing different clubs from different distances, but I've been trying it without much success outside of wedges. There's probably a comment about this in LSW, and I do plan to read that over the winter.

It's quite embarrassing (and bogey-rific) to be that guy who comes up 40 yards short on a 200yd par 3 because they tried to hit their "hard" 7 iron. Works for Tiger, aka child prodigy masterclass golfer, but maybe not for me.

My new philosophy is take a 4, and focus on hitting a golf shot, instead of trying to be special. Not even saying you're doing this by the way, just sharing some reflections.

CARRY a 9 iron 200 yards? I think your range markers are messed up.

[Dave2512]

Pros have different abilities and therefore options than we do. I know what I average from using Game Golf and well my averages are 10-15 yards apart for irons but the shots that got me to those numbers are all over the place. I can hit my 7 iron 40 yards or 180 yards, might be back to back shots.

[bm85]

3 hours ago, Psyber said:

CARRY a 9 iron 200 yards? I think your range markers are messed up.

Actually go to 3 different ranges.

Not saying I pick up a 9 iron and it just flies 200 when I swing it, but I have actually hit a few beyond that messing around. Wasn't even that thrilled about it.

Naturally at first you're like wow what an impressive flight for a 9 iron, I rock. Then it's big deal, I could already hit my 5 that far so what have I achieved? Bragging rights? It's all about hitting your mark with irons, and focusing on plowing the driver that matters. Anyway, sorry for off topic.

[JonMA1]

Earlier in the season, I was gripping down on my 5w, taking a shorter swing and having success closing the gap between that club and my 4i. But once I starting hitting my 4iron better, there was no longer the need to do that.

I take full swings with 8i and longer with almost no attempt at variation in distance or flight (key word there is "attempt"). Golf is hard enough just trying to learn and execute one swing. As others have mentioned, there are days when I'm hitting a bit longer or shorter for whatever reason, but it's usually consistent throughout the bag.

I rarely take a full swing with my 9i and PW but the distances from each club don't vary much. My gap wedge is the club that I get the most differential with.

The only exception I can think of is my 5i, which is my club of choice when I want to keep a shot very low. Hitting a green with that shot is one of my favorites to pull off. At times, it's the only choice I have with a short approach under tree branches.